The Mask

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"Lovemaking so early in the day. Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?"

Kenneth liked to tease his sister-in-law, but the young girl was quite
his equal when it came to a battle of wits and it was not often that
she gave him the opportunity.

"What time do you do your love making?" he demanded.

Her cheeks reddened a little as she retorted:

"I'm never so foolish. I leave that to you married people. My purpose
in life is far more serious."

"Oh, come now," protested her brother-in-law, "I've noticed you and
Steell spooning often enough."

Stylishly and tastefully dressed, her face beaming with animation, her
eyes sparkling with intelligence, Kenneth's sister-in-law was a pretty,
wholesome looking girl. She had beautiful blond hair like her sister,
and fine, white teeth that told of good health and perfect digestion.
Helen's junior only by three years, she was still unmarried and for the
present at least seemed more inclined to remain single and partake of
life's pleasures than incur the risks and responsibilities of
matrimony. Not that she had been without offers. A girl as attractive
and clever could hardly have failed to please the sterner sex. All
sorts and conditions of men had prostrated themselves at her tiny,
well-shod feet, but, capricious and headstrong, she would have none of
them. She was what might be called a singular girl. She liked men,
not because of their sex, but because their point of view was
different, their grasp of things stronger than her own. One day she
must marry. She knew that. It was, she insisted laughingly, an
ignoble state of slavery, a humiliating, degrading condition of
subjection to the male which every woman must endure, necessary
perhaps, but an ordeal to be put off, something unpleasant to be
postponed as long as possible, like the taking of a dose of unsavory
physic or having a tooth pulled at the dentist's. Meantime, heart
whole and fancy free, she enjoyed life to the limit and kept her
admirers guessing.

"Oh, I saw such lovely things in the stores," exclaimed the young girl.
"I wish I had the money to buy them all."

"You will have when I get back from South Africa," he laughed.

"Don't forget," she laughed. "I'll hold you to that promise. Helen is
witness."

"I swear it!" he said with mock solemnity. "You shall have carte
blanche in any Fifth Avenue shop to the amount of--$1.75."

"Will you be ready in time?" she laughed, looking around with dismay at
the litter of open trunks.

"I won't, if you stay here chattering like a magpie."

"What time does the steamer sail?"

"Eleven o'clock," said Helen.

"We're all coming to see you off. Mr. Steell told me that he's coming,
too."

"Not exactly to see me, I'm afraid," smiled Kenneth.

"Who else?" she retorted. "If you mean me, you're mistaken. He
doesn't need to make the uncomfortable trip to Hoboken to see me."

Her brother-in-law smiled, amused at her petulance.

"My dear," he said, "you don't know what hardships a man will endure
for the girl he's sweet on." With mock seriousness he went on: "Say
sis, Helen and I have been having an argument. Who does Steell come
here for--for you or for me?"

Ray burst into merry laughter.

"How silly you are, Ken. For me, of course. At least, I flatter
myself that----" With a wink at her sister she added facetiously: "Of
course, one never knows when dealing with these handsome men. And
Helen is quite adorable. If I were a man, I should be crazy about her."

Helen held up a protesting finger.

"Don't talk like that, dear, or he'll believe you."

Kenneth laughed.

"Yes, I'm as jealous as Othello and quite as dangerous. Don't I look
it?"

As he spoke, the front door-bell rang downstairs. Ray hastily took up
her things.

"Here's company!"

"I hope not!" exclaimed Helen. "I'm in no mood to see anybody."

"I'll see them," whispered Ray, "and say you're out. It won't be the
first fib I've told."

She ran lightly out of the room and upstairs, while Helen and her
husband went on with the work of packing. They were just stooping
together over a trunk when there came a rap on the door, and Francois
appeared.

"A lady to see monsieur."

Kenneth looked puzzled.

"A lady? What lady?"

Helen laughed merrily. Triumphantly, she exclaimed:

"It's my turn now to be jealous."

"Not exactly a lady, monsieur. An elderly person."

"What's her name?"

"Mrs. Mary O'Connor."

Kenneth smiled broadly.

"Mary O'Connor, my old nurse. Well, well, show her right in." Turning
to his wife he added quickly: "Dear old soul--no doubt she's heard I'm
off to Africa and wishes to say good-bye."

An instant later an old woman bent with age and with a kindly face
framed with silvery white hair came in, hands outstretched. Without
any air of condescension on his part, Kenneth went forward to greet
her. Through all the long stretch of years, from his boy days to his
manhood he had never forgotten how kind Mary had been to him when a
child, taking the place of the mother he had lost in infancy. A
Christmas was never allowed to pass without a fat turkey for the old
nurse and many a little present of money had accompanied the bird. The
old woman's lips quivered as she said tremulously:

"It's a long way you're going, Mr. Kenneth."

"Oh, I'll soon be back, Mary," he rejoined jovially.

She shook her head.

"It's a long way and I'm getting old."

The promoter laughed boisterously. Leading her gently to a chair he
exclaimed:

"Old! Nonsense; You're just as young to me now as when I first
remember you."

The old lady smiled. Nodding her head feebly, she replied:

"When you used to play hide-and-seek with me. When I wanted to put you
to bed you were nowhere to be found."

Helen laughed while Kenneth protested:

"Oh, come now, Mary, I wasn't so bad as that."

"No. You weren't bad--just lively and natural as all healthy children.
You were always a better boy than your brother."

Helen looked up quickly.

"Your brother, Kenneth? I never heard you speak of a brother."

He looked at the old lady in amazement.

"My brother? What brother?"

The old lady smiled.

"That's so--you never knew. You were too young to remember. Yes, you
had a brother--a twin brother. People hardly knew you apart. There
was only one way in which your mother and I could tell."

"What was that?" demanded the promoter eagerly.

"He had a scar. He caught his hand in some machinery when a baby and
it left a scar in the index finger of the left hand."

Transfixed, Kenneth listened open-mouthed. At last breaking the spell,
he exclaimed:

"I never heard of him. You never spoke of him before."

"How should you remember?" went on the old woman. "It's many years
ago. Your father and mother are dead. You have no relatives living.
No one knows. But I know."

"Did he die?" asked Kenneth, deeply interested.

The old lady nodded affirmatively.

"I shall never forgive myself. It was my fault. You were playing
together in the garden. I didn't dream either of you could come to
harm. I went into the house for a moment to get something. When I
came back your brother was gone--no trace of him anywhere. We never
saw him again. Your father, heart-broken, offered a fortune for news
of him. The police hunted high and low all over the country. There
was no trace. Some gypsies had passed recently through the town. I
always suspected them. That is thirty years ago and more."

"So it's not even known if he's dead," interrupted Kenneth eagerly.

The beldame shook her head sorrowfully, as she answered sagely:

"Oh, he's dead all right. That's sure. There was money left to him by
your grandfather. For years the lawyers advertised for news of him.
But it was no good. If he'd been alive, he'd have claimed his own."

"He might still be alive, yet unaware of his identity," broke in Helen,
who was a keenly interested listener. She had been so accustomed to
regard her husband as the only son of parents, both of whom were dead,
that the mere possibility of his having a brother awakened her
curiosity.

Still under the spell of the old woman's unexpected revelation, Kenneth
had relapsed into a thoughtful silence. The surprising news had
affected him strangely. So--he had had a brother--a twin brother, and
all these years he had been in ignorance of the fact. Yet who could be
nearer or dearer than a twin brother? Together they had lain under the
same mother's heart. Together they had first seen the light and
laughed in the sun. Ah, if he had only lived to be his comrade, his
partner! With a brother at his side, to second him in his hazardous
enterprises, he felt he would indeed be invincible. He could have
conquered the world!

The old nurse held out a withered hand, and her eyes were moist with
tears as she said:

"Good-bye, Mr. Kenneth. A safe journey to you. Keep out of danger.
I'll be praying for the Lord to watch over you."

Helen turned away so they might not see her emotion. Kenneth laughed
lightly as he kissed the old woman's cheek, and then, slipping a bank
note into her hand, he said carelessly:

"All right, Mary, I'll be careful. I'll come back safe and
sound,--never fear, and I'll bring you something nice,--perhaps a big
diamond. Out in South Africa they pick 'em up like stones."

The old woman's eyes opened incredulously.

"Really, Mr. Kenneth?"

"Yes, really. Diamonds as big as apples. They're found every day.
When I come back I'll have all sorts of adventures to tell you about.
Who knows? I might even run across this twin-brother of mine.
Stranger things have happened."

"Diamonds as big as apples," she echoed. "Do you mean that, Mr.
Kenneth?"

He laughed.

"Indeed I do! Some of the gems are as big as cocoanuts. Didn't you
hear of that wonderful diamond we found the other day? It's worth a
million dollars."

The old woman opened her eyes and gaped with astonishment.

"A million dollars, Mr. Kenneth!"

"Yes, a million dollars. What's more, I'll soon be able to show it to
you, Mary. My trip out to South Africa is ostensibly for the purpose
of negotiating for more land. The real purpose of my journey is to
bring home this astonishing stone."

"But how will you carry it, Mr. Kenneth? A stone worth a million
dollars must be big as a house."

Kenneth laughed.

"No--no, Mary. It can easily go in my waistcoat pocket. But for
safety's sake it won't. I don't mind letting you into my confidence.
I'm to have a secret bottom made in----"

Before he could complete the sentence, Helen quickly clapped her hand
over his mouth, and he had not yet recovered from his astonishment when
she sprang to the door and opened it. The movement was so sudden and
unexpected that a man who had been leaning against it, fell all his
length into the room. It was Francois, the French valet.

"_Excusez_," he stammered, "I stumbled."

Kenneth stared first at the servant, then at his wife. Slowly he began
to comprehend. Turning to the Frenchman he demanded angrily:

"What were you doing behind that door?"

"_Excusez_. I came back to ask monsieur how many shirts I pack."

Thoroughly aroused, the promoter pointed to the door. Sternly he said:

"Get out of here--you fool! If you don't know your business, I'll get
some one else who does."

The Frenchman beat a rapid retreat. There was a malevolent look on his
face, but he murmured respectfully enough:

"_Oui, monsieur_."

Kenneth turned to his wife.

"What did he come back for?" he demanded.

"He was listening--behind the door," she replied calmly.

CHAPTER IV

The dirty, sullen waters of the harbor washed lazily against the black,
precipitous sides of the giant liner which, under a full head of steam,
vibrated with suppressed energy, straining at mighty cables as if
impatient to start on her long and hazardous voyage across the tumbling
seas. A raw, piercing northeaster, howling dismally above the
monotonous creaking and puffing of the donkey-engine, swept through the
cheerless, draughty dock, chilling the spectators to the marrow. The
sun, vainly trying to break through the banks of leaden-colored clouds,
cast a grayish pall over land and sky. A day it was of sinister
portent, that could not fail to have a depressing effect on sailor and
landlubber alike.

Yet unpropitious skies and chilly wind did not appear to keep people at
home. The steamer was crowded, both with those who were sailing and
those who were not. The gangways, staterooms were overrun not only by
passengers, but by all sorts of visitors curious to get a glimpse of
the luxurious liner. The first-class saloon, heaped high on all sides
with American Beauty roses and orchids, looked as gay and full of color
as a florist's shop.

"Isn't it perfectly stunning? How I adore ships!" exclaimed Ray, eager
to see everything.

Keeping close together, the two young women with difficulty elbowed
their way through the excited throng. They were anxious to rejoin
Kenneth whom they had left in the stateroom giving instructions to
Francois, and they began to be afraid they might lose him in the crush.
Delighted at everything she saw, Ray could not contain herself.

"Oh, how I wish I were going! Why doesn't Ken take me?"

Helen turned to her in mock despair.

"If you went, what would I do? Who would take care of me?"

"I would," said a masculine voice close by.

The women turned quickly.

A tall, fair man still in his thirties, had stopped and raised his hat.

"Why, it's Mr. Steell!" exclaimed Ray, her pleasure at the meeting
betraying itself in the tone of her voice.

"Do you doubt my ability to take care of you? Could any man wish for a
more congenial task?"

"Flatterer!" laughed Helen. Cordially she added: "I'm awfully glad to
see you. It was very good of you to come and see Ken off."

"Nonsense," exclaimed the newcomer. "I wanted to come--if only to make
sure he wouldn't change his mind. I'm as anxious to see those diamonds
as you are."

"Hush!" said Helen putting up her finger to her mouth while Ray's
attention was momentarily diverted elsewhere. "No one knows--not even
Ray. It's a great secret."

An anxious look passed over the young man's face. He hadn't approved
of this South African trip. It was wholly unnecessary. In his opinion
his old chum was taking a great risk.

"That's right," he muttered. "You can't be too careful."

In metropolitan legal circles Wilbur Steell was looked upon as the
coming man. His success in the courts had given him a wide reputation
before he was five and thirty, and his gifts as a public speaker, his
strong, aggressive personality made more than one political leader
anxious to secure his services. Already he was mentioned as district
attorney. Even the Governorship might have been his for the asking.
But he showed no liking for politics. His sympathies leaned more
towards the literary, intellectual life. Having all the money he
needed, he preferred to keep out of the social and political maelstrom,
leading a quiet life, following his own tastes and inclinations.
Match-making mammas saw in him a prize, but so far he had shown no
disposition to marry. He cultivated few people, in fact, was
considered somewhat of a misanthrope. Kenneth he had known all his
life. They were boys together, and the Traynors were among the few on
whom he called frequently. He made no secret of his attraction for
Ray, and the young girl liked him as well as she chose to like anybody.
He had qualities, not usually met with in successful men, that made a
strong appeal to her--fine ideals, and a purpose in life. She liked
his seriousness, finding him different in this respect from any other
man she knew. She felt he admired her, but he did not make love to her
and she was grateful to him for that. She liked his society and never
tired of discussing with him sociology and other subjects in which both
were interested.

"When does the steamer sail?" interrupted Ray anxiously, as if afraid
that they might go off with her on board.

"In half an hour," said the lawyer. "They ring a warning bell. There
is plenty of time. Where's Kenneth?"

"Down below in his stateroom--wrestling with baggage," replied Helen.
"He said he would join us here."

"Well, suppose we sit down a bit," he suggested.

"Yes--that will be jolly," exclaimed Ray.

The lawyer pulled up three steamer chairs and sitting down, they
watched the crowd which had already begun to thin out. The novelty of
the scene held both women fascinated. The constant bustle and
excitement, the going and coming of well-groomed men and women, the
little scraps of conversation overheard, interested them both beyond
measure. Helen studied each individual couple, wondering who they
were, how long married, if they were happy, where they were going to.
She wondered if that coarse, loudly dressed woman really cared for her
husband, or if this brutal looking man with insolent stare of the
libertine, illtreated his delicate little wife. She herself could not
understand marriage without genuine affection on both sides. Any such
intimate relation as the marriage tie involved must surely be repellent
and abhorrent to any self-respecting woman unless love were there to
sanction and sanctify it.

Ray glanced at her sister and laughed.

"Why so serious, Helen? He hasn't gone yet."

Helen sighed.

"But he soon will be. I wish he were here instead of downstairs."

Ray protested.

"Please be nautically correct. Remember we are on a ship. You don't
say 'downstairs'; you say 'below.'"

Mr. Steell turned round with a smile.

"I had no idea you were so well posted in sailor's parlance."

The young girl laughed.

"Oh, you don't know half my accomplishments. I'm cleverer than you
give me credit for."

The young man leaned half over the chair as he whispered:

"I wouldn't dare tell you how clever I think you."

"Why?"

"Because--of my own peace of mind."

Helen broke in on the conversation. Addressing the lawyer, she said:

"Now Kenneth is away, we shall expect you to come to the house very
often."

The lawyer bowed.

"It's always a pleasure to call."

"Be sure to come next Sunday evening. I expect some friends. We'll
have some music."

"May I bring someone?"

"Certainly. Any friend of yours is welcome."

"Who is it?" asked Ray impertinently. "Male or female?"

"I believe it's a male," smiled the lawyer. "It looks like a male and
talks like one." More seriously he went on: "His name is Dick
Reynolds. He has just passed his bar examination and is practicing
temporarily in my office. His people live out West and being alone
here, he is glad enough to have somewhere to go."

"Bring him by all means," exclaimed Ray. "Has he any
accomplishments--apart from being a male?"

"Yes--he plays the piano indifferently, and tennis admirably. He swims
like a fish, and can run like a hare. But his best accomplishment is a
gift that one seldom sees developed----"

"What is that?" exclaimed both his listeners at once.

"He is a born detective--a regular Sherlock Holmes in real life. I
have tested him several times with extraordinary results. I have given
him the most difficult cases to unravel. He has found the solution in
every one."

Ray clapped her hands.

"Oh, I love that," she said. "Don't forget to invite him. Only the
trouble is we have nothing to unravel."

"I have a skein of silk," interrupted Helen facetiously.

Suddenly the lawyer stopped speaking and quickly sitting up in his
chair stared intently in the distance at a face in the crowd which had
caught his eye.

"Who is it?" demanded Ray, her woman's jealousy aroused.

"I may be mistaken," he replied, "but I thought I saw your friend
Signor Keralio."

Helen looked up quickly.

"My friend?" she exclaimed. "He's no friend of mine. I wonder what
he's doing here. He can't be sailing."

"He's up to no good, I wager that," growled the lawyer.

"You don't like him either, do you?" smiled Ray.

"Does anyone?" he answered. "I don't see how Kenneth can have anything
to do with such a cheap type of adventurer."

Helen hastened to explain.

"Ken doesn't care for him at all, only they are both interested in the
same business deal--a silver mine in Mexico. Ken bought stock and
Keralio is the only man he knows connected with it. That's why."

The lawyer gave vent to a grunt of disgust.

"If Keralio has anything to do with it, good-bye to Ken's money. In my
opinion the fellow's a crook."

Suddenly Helen pointed to a spot away down at the other end of the deck.

"Yes--you're right--there he is--behind that third lifeboat. He's
talking to some one."

The lawyer looked in the direction indicated.

"Yes--and do you see the secretive way in which they're talking--hiding
behind that boat, as if so that no one might see them. They're
plotting some mischief, you may be sure of that. Who's the other
fellow?"

Helen strained her eyes to see.

"I can't see his face. Oh, yes I can--why--it's our
Francois--Kenneth's valet. What can they be talking about? I don't
trust that valet. Only the other day I caught him reading some
letters. I warned Ken about him; but he insists he is faithful--I
wonder what they can have in common? He used to be in Signor Keralio's
employ."

The lawyer shook his head ominously. Gravely he said:

"That fellow Keralio will bear watching. I think I'll put my Sherlock
Holmes on his track."

Ray laughed.

"Oh, that would be exciting--a drama in real life. Please do----"

"Good morning, ladies!" said a voice close at hand. "Good morning, Mr.
Steell."

All looked up. A tall, elderly man with white hair, distinguished
looking and fashionably dressed, had stopped.

"Why, it's Mr. Parker!" exclaimed Helen holding out her hand. "You
came to see Kenneth off?"

"Yes--where is he?"

"In his stateroom--attending to his baggage. He'll be here directly."

"I must see him at once."

"Anything important?"

"Very important, indeed," replied the newcomer.

Helen jumped up, all flushed from excitement.

"Please tell me what it is?" she exclaimed.

The old gentleman drew a telegram from his pocket.

"I've just received this from our agent in Cape Town. Another diamond
of extraordinary size has been picked up. It weighs over 2,000 carats
and is calculated to be worth five hundred thousand dollars. That's
the second stone of extraordinary size that we have found. Possibly
there is some exaggeration in the reports, but there is no doubt
whatever that we are on the verge of discoveries little short of
sensational. Meantime, the treasury of the Americo-African Mining
Company has been enriched by at least a million. When Kenneth returns
to New York with these wonderful gems in his possession, there is
likely to be a boom in the company's shares."

The old gentleman spoke glibly, even eloquently and it was obvious that
he was sincere and not talking for effect. It was, indeed, largely due
to his distinguished air, and fine oratorical powers that Cornelius
Winthrop Parker had been elected president of the Americo-African
Mining Company, with fine offices in New York and London and
stockholders in every country under the sun. Trained for the ministry
and enjoying a wide acquaintance but a slim income, he had found the
business of stock company promotion more profitable than preaching the
gospel, and when Traynor had first gone to him with the suggestion that
a company be formed to take up the large tract of Transvaal land where
precious stones had actually been found he was not slow to grasp at the
unusual opportunity. He managed cleverly the preliminary publicity
campaign. The company was promptly organized and successfully floated,
the public snapping as eagerly at the shares as a fish at the bait. It
was only logical to infer, therefore, that when Kenneth returned to New
York with actual proof of the company's suddenly acquired wealth in his
possession, the stock would soar above par. With this pleasing
prospect in view, it was not surprising that Mr. Parker wore to-day his
most engaging smile.

Ray looked up in surprise.

"What!" she exclaimed. "Kenneth to bring home the diamonds? This is
the first I heard of it. Helen never told me."

"Hush!" said Mr. Parker, holding up his handy warningly. "Some one
might hear you." Continuing, he said blandly:

"Of course not, my dear lady, of course not. Your sister is far too
discreet and clever a woman to disclose her husband's plans to the
world. There are some things a man must keep secret from
everyone--even from his wife. It would have been the height of folly
to make any such announcement from the housetops. The highways are
full of rogues; even the walls have ears. Some crook might have
learned of our plans and acted accordingly. Kenneth might be followed
to South Africa, shadowed till he has the gems in his possession and
then waylaid and murdered. Remember, he will have stones in his
waistcoat pocket worth a million. Do you suppose desperate men will
stop at anything to secure such a prize?"

Ray turned to her sister.

"Did you know?"

Helen nodded.

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